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GM: Chevy COPO Camaro returning with power, style

GM: 2013 SEMA Show vehicles

Demonstrating the hauling capability of the all-new 2015 Silverado HD lineup, this crew cab concept is shown in Chevrolet's SEMA Show display hitched to a custom trailer holding a COPO Camaro race car and with a new COPO racing engine and transmission in the bed.
(GM)

STERLING HEIGHTS, MI- The Chevrolet COPO Camaro is returning for the 2014 model-year with updated styling and new engine options, officials announced today.

Like the previous two years, General Motors Co. will only produce 69 of the vehicles, which are built for NHRA Stock Eliminator and Super Stock competition. They will carry the updated styling of the 2014 Camaro lineup, including new front and rear fascias.

“The demand has been very strong,” Jim Campbell, GM U.S. vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports, told MLive during a recent interview. “Most importantly, customers really like the whole process of buying the car.”

Lucky owners, which are chosen through a random lottery by a third-party, are able to take delivery of the COPO at a dedicated build center. Customers can even build their own engine at the Michigan facility, but cannot drive it from home. The vehicles are not street-legal.

For the 2014 model, GM has expanded its crate engine lineup for the COPO Camaro to five engines, including a naturally aspirated 427 7.0-liter engine, two 5.3-liter supercharged 327 engines and all-new 396-cubic-inch and 350-cubic-inch naturally aspirated engines.

2014 Chevrolet COPO Camaro (Courtesy GM)

Customers select the engine based on their intended NHRA racing class. They can also purchase all four engines, each serialized to match the car.

To be eligible to purchase one of the exclusive models, potential customers must sign up for the COPO Camaro mailing list at chevroletperformance.com.

“We had all the cars sold in about a week,” said Sandor M. Piszar, GM performance vehicles and motorsports director of strategy and planning. "There's been some fun stories ... people freak out."

Piszar said more than 3,000 people applied for the lottery of the 2013 COPO Camaro, which started at $86,000.

Each COPO Camaro race car is built by hand starting with hardware from the General Motors Oshawa, Ontario assembly plant that manufactures regular-production Camaros, including the same body in white body, along with other COPO-specific parts, to build their own dedicated race car.

The vehicles are fitted with an NHRA-approved roll cage and other safety equipment, along with racing chassis and suspension components – including a unique solid rear axle system in place of a regular-production Camaro’s independent rear axle.

The 2014 COPO Camaro also includes new racing seats, updated graphics and a new, available wheel design.

Serial number 1 of the 2014 COPO Camaro – the only one to be painted Ice Blue Metallic – will be auctioned by Chevrolet Performance at Barrett-Jackson’s annual January event in Scottsdale, Ariz. Proceeds benefit the Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans.

COPO stands for Central Office Production Order and was originally used by dealers in the 1960s to generate special orders, mostly for fleet vehicles. The 69-car production for the COPO Camaro matches the number of ZL1 COPO Camaros made in 1969.

Click here for a slideshow of photos and details on the Chevy vehicles heading out the SEMA Show.